Truth and ethics: modest winners of the election

The New York Times reports[1] that in the primary and general elections, an unusual number of incumbents who faced ethics challenges lost their races. This is good news.

Here in Missouri, Todd Akin, a Republican, spent the last month declaring that Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, had stolen $43 million and given her husband special business access, charges the local media declared to be false. McCaskill did not dwell in her ads on Akin's views of abortion or his misinformation about rape and pregnancy. She stressed his libertarian views that reject school lunch programs, social security and college loans -- all truthful statements.

Nationally, President Barack Obama and his supporters told some lies, but Politifact puts the lion's share of lying in the Romney camp.

I'm hoping someone will write a book examining the role of truth in this election. It seems to have been a winning strategy.